Of Angels and Demons
by ThomasBlue
Summary: Hope hasn't been talking. He won't eat or sleep and flinches when touched. Snow notices the change and decides to get to the bottom of it. But will he regret finding out what's happened to the boy he swore he'd protect? Contains abuse! SnowxHope SLASH
1. Chapter 1

Ugh i'm writing this on notepad! Times are hard. :P Anyway, introductions! I'm not a new writer on this site, but i took a long time off because lifes one hell of a bitch :) But i'm back now and i was hoping to get back into writing, and what better to start with than Final Fantasy XIII?

So, here's the first little bit of my story. Please tell me what you think. x-

-ThomasBlue.

* * *

Chapter One - In The Beginning there was Hate

"Why do you do this, Snow?! Why can't you just talk to me?!" Sereh snapped as she paced around the hotel room. Snow was sitting on the sofa infront of the coffee table watching his fiance's frantic movements. "Say something!" snow leaned forward wearily and rested his elbows on his knees.

"What do you want me to say?" He said in a subdued and calm voice. Sereh cursed and punched the wall. Snow winced a little bit, he was glad she hit the wall and not his face but damn that must've hurt!

"Anything! Just let me know you care, for fuck's sake!" Snow rolled his eyes.

"Not this again! Have we got to the bit where you accuse me of not loving you anymore?" Sereh's hands dropped down by her sides and Snow could tell he'd overstepped the mark.

"You're a dick!" She shouted. Snow looked down at the floor. He knew he should apologise, but he just couldn't. "Just tell me, Snow. Why won't you make love to me?" Snow felt a sudden wave of anger build up inside him. He slammed his fist down on the glass of the coffee table, making it crack under the force. sereh yelped and stared at him in silence.

"Why does it always have to be about you, huh?!" He rose to his feet and turned away from her.

"Y-you can't just leave me here! We came here to have a break, just the two of us!" Her voice was breaking up. Snow couldn't bring himself to look back at her. He was destroying her and he didn't even have the decency to look her in the eyes.

"I think i've had enough 'just you and me' for one day. I'm going home. He stormed over to the door and threw it open, leaving the love of his life bereft and heartbroken. After he'd slammed the door behind him, he didn't linger. He knew he had broken her. He knew she'd be crying. As he ran down the corridor he got a sense of self-loathing that had become all too familiar of late.

_What the fuck is wrong with you?!_ He thought.

------

"Agh!" Hope fell against the pavement railing, clutching his side in agony. He staggered down the streets of bhodum, blinded by tears of pain. Looking down at his side, he saw the fabric of his gloves had become saturated with his blood.

"Are you ok?!" A passer by showed concern for him. "Oh my God, you're bleeding..." hope threw his hands out.

"get away from me!" He shrieked in a trembling, fear-struck voice. He mustered up all the strength he could and staggered away from the stranger, who had been unnerved by the boy.

"You need a doc..." hope pulled a blade out of his pocket and held it out timidly.

"No! Now get away from me!" The stranger backed away.

"I don't want any trouble, buddy!" He slowly backed away from hope, until he was a safe enough distance to break into a sprint.

"Ah!" Hope yelped as he fell back against the railing. He scanned the streets through blurred vision, dropping the knife weakly at his side.

_You can't even run away properly? You're pathetic!_ He thought as he slid to the ground.

------

Snow wandered the dark streets, taking in a lungful of the crisp midnight air. His mind was so much clearer now, as it always was when it was too late to take back the things he said.  
why do you act like that? After everything you did for her...she's the girl of your dreams...Right? Snow didn't like letting his thoughts wander, it never ended well. He was pulled from his shame-induced trance by a voice in the distance, that got louder with every step he took towards it. There was a guy walking on the other side of the road. snow cocked an eyebrow as he studied him. something was amiss. He kept looking behind him and he was frantically trying to explain something over the phone.

"That's what i'm saying, theres this boy, just a kid. He looks like he's been stabbed. I tried to help but he pulled a knife on me! The address? yeah its on the corner of brickworks and briar." snow stood on the other side of the road, trying to make sense of what he had heard.

_Wait!_ He thought. _The address he gave...it's just down the stree_t! Snow broke into a sprint across the road. He ran to the end of the street and turned the corner. He scanned the street carefully and a first he didn't see anything. His heart skipped a beat as his eyes focused on a small shape slumped against a set of railings.

"Oh my god!" He muttered as he ran towards it. As he got closer a sense of cold dread rose in his stomach. As he approached he could see silver hair. He's only everknown two people with silver hair...and one of them was dead.

------

hope lay on the pavement. He'd abandoned the idea of applying pressure to his wound round about he'd abandoned all faith. he could see his breath clouding as it floated up and dispersed into the night. It was a terrifying thing, lying in a pool of your own blood all on your own watching your last shallow breaths dissipate into darkness.

_is somebody...hugging me?_ hope could feel strong arms on his. He struggled to open his eyes, only to see the person he thought he'd never see again. He was the person who made all this happen to him.

"Hope! What the hell are you doing here?! What's happened to you?!" Snow stood up and took his coat off.

"S-snow?" Hope rasped, looking up. Snow draped his coat over the small boy.

"Don't try to talk. The police are on their way. Hope coaughed, spraying blood over his bottom lip.

"P-please, no!" Hope grabbed on to snow with surprising force, causing him to yelp in suprise. "Get me away from here. N-no police...p-please." Hope's grip on Snow's arm loosened completely and he went limp. Snow looked down at him and decided what he should do.

* * *

So, there you have it! Lot's of stuff happening that ur not supposed to understand yet. Please tell me what you think and then i'll know weather i should write more of it or not )  
peace out xD -ThomasBlue.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello there :) I would like to start with both a thank you and an apology. I'm sorry that the quality of my first chapter wasn't very good. I wrote it on notepad and so it got a little bit crappy. xD And thank you to those people who took the time to review it. :) I hope i don't let you down with future chapters. :)

Are you sitting comfortably? Good, then we'll begin :P

-ThomasBlue.

* * *

Chapter 2 - How to avoid telling the truth.

There was so much in the room, but the door seemed to be the only thing in focus. It was like everything was in black and white, except this one thing. As Hope stared at it, he got a deep, dark sense of foreboding. He knew what the door could do, he knew what was behind it, but that still didn't repel him. Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and the door rattled on its hinges. Hope's heart jumped up into his mouth as he watched the handle frantically turn from the other side. His breathing grew shallow and his eyes started to glaze over with tears.

"Please, stop!" He stuttered. The door stopped shaking for a moment, Hope stared on in horror. suddenly the door buckled a little and splinters were sent flying into the room. Hope yelped and rushed up to the door, pressing himself against it "I'm sorry! I won't do it again! I'll be good, i swear! Stop it!"

"Stop it!" Hope sprung forward in his bed, dragging himself out of his nightmare. Immediately he winced at the pain in his side. He scanned the darkened room, and saw it was unfamiliar. He brushed his hair back with his hand and tried to recall the night before. before he had time to collect himself, Hope could hear the door handle turning, this immediately brought back a profound terror deep in his bones. The door swung open and a man rushed in, and in that moment, Hope remembered everything.

"Hope, you're awake!" Snow rushed over to his bedside and knelt on the floor. Hope couldn't take it all in, was he really safe and sound?

"Snow? Y-you found me?" Hope's voice was trembling. Snow gave one of his easily seen-though smiles, which did nothing of hiding his concern.

"Hope, what happened last night? I haven't seen or heard from you in ages, then suddenly you show up covered in blood! What the hell happened?!" He tried to look hope in the eyes, but they never met his gaze.

"I got mugged last night. That's all." Hope looked at Snow, who now looked twice as concerned.

"Mugged?! Hope, what did they do?" Hope didn't like answering these questions, this was all too much to take in in one go.

"They took my phone and my money." He gesticulated to his side, "Then they did this." Snow instinctively didn't believe him, but he could see the boy was getting distressed so he left it at that.

"One more question, Hope." Hope didn't look at him, but went silent, "Why wouldn't you let us phone the police?" The question hung in the air as Hope desperate concocted a story, because the truth was way too painful.

"I'm fine, there's no need for...wait a second. Whose 'we?'" Snow smiled down at the boy, and was immediately pushed aside to reveal a sight for sore eyes. "lightening!" She rushed past snow and knelt beside him, like a loyal knight.

"Hope! I'm so glad you're okay! What were you thinking, being out that late?" She went forward to hug him but seemed hesitant. Hope threw himself forward, groaning at the pain in his side.

"I've missed you so much!" Hope yelped as he held on tightly. Lightening could feel his vice-like grip on her. He had to hold on to her. She would make it all go away, all the things that had happened. Such dreadful things. Hope started to sob on her shoulder.

"Hey." She said softly as he held him out at arms-length, "It's okay, hope. You're safe now. She ruffled his hair and lay him back down. "I'll be right back, ok?" Hope frowned a little bit at this but he nodded all the same. Lightening turned to Snow, who had been staring on at the scene unfolding in front of him. "I need a word with you"

"Sure, wha..." Lightening pushed her hand up to silence him.

"No, i said i need a word with _you_." She started to get angry. Hope stared on at the exchange in interest. "Wait outside for me." She ordered. Snow tried not to look bothered but he knew what was coming and he knew he deserved it. He left the room and closed the door behind him. Lightening looked over at hope.

"You okay?" Hope felt the warmth of her words wash over him and he sank into the bed a bit more. Of course, he wasn't okay, he wasn't in the least. But just for now, with Lightening there...he was safe.

"mmhmm." He whimpered as he fell into a sleep. Lightening looked down in concern and pulled the duvet up over his chest.

_What happened to you, Hope? Where have you been?...Why didn't you need us anymore? _There were so many things rushing through her head, but all she could do right now was keep him alive.

---------

Snow was leaning against the corridor wall, his arms folded over his chest. His head was bowed and all he could do was think over the 12 hours. He knew Lightening would shout at or maybe hit him for what he did to Sereh. He knew he should feel guilty about it, but right now that guilt was being overpowered by a much stronger guilt.

_He could have died. If i hadn't been there he might have... _The bedroom door opened, and Lightening stepped out. She closed the door behind her and looked up at Snow, who met her gaze.

"Say what you have to say, do what you have to do and then can we get back to looking after him?" He pointed to the bedroom door. Suddenly, Snow found himself backed against the wall.

"If you use Hope as an excuse to not talk about the fact you're destroying my sister's life again," She pointed down the corridor, to the grand window at the end. "I will put you through that god-damn window!" Snow felt the sense of shame he'd been trying to avoid build up in his chest.

"Lightening, i..."

"Why, snow?! Why are you throwing it all away?!" Snow looked into her eyes, he knew there would be hell to pay if he didn't . He couldn't tell her what was wrong, he didn't know either.

"I don't know what you want me to say! I'm a bastard okay!" He was getting angry, but not with her. "I'm only going to hurt and hurt and hurt her!" Snow fell silent, leaving Lightening to her shock. Snow _never_ got angry!

"I'm taking Sereh to my place." Snow wanted to stop her, but couldn't find the words. "I'll be back once she's settled in to check on Hope. I'm not sure i like him being here with you." She left that sentence hanging in the air as she walked off.

"Lightening i would never...not to him, i..." She was gone. Snow felt rage, like he'd never felt it before. He wanted to break something, but Hope was resting.

------

Snow stood in he kitchen, watching the bowl spin inside the microwave. He didn't know what he expected to see in there, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from it. If he could only replace all the negative thoughts he had with that bowl, how much easier life would be.

'_ding_

Snow took the bowl out of the microwave and put it on a tray, being careful not to spill it on his jeans. He put a spoon next to the bowl and carried the tray out of the room. He walked up to the bedroom door where hope was sleeping. He knocked on the door, and heard rustling on the other side.

"Hope? You decent in there?" Snow pressed his ear to the door.

"Y-yeah." He could hear a weak voice on the other side.

_Has he been crying?_ Snow opened the door and walked inside. Hope was lying on top of the covers, idly rubbing his side. He tilted his head over to Snow when he came in, and his eyes flicked to the tray.

"I brought you some soup." He smiled. Hope stared at him. "It's chicken and noodle. Sit up" hope shuffled painfully into an upright position and Snow rested the tray on his lap. "You really should get out of those bloody clothes." Hope ignored the last thing he said and looked down at the soup.

"T-thanks, Snow." Hope said, looking him in the eyes for the first time in a long time. He looked down at the soup and then at Snow, who had pulled up a chair next to the bed. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, like why Hope cut off all contact with them, and the real reason he was there, but that could wait, for now. "Snow?" Hope asked.

"Yea?" Snow looked at him, _At least he's talking to me, _He thought.

"I heard what happened in the hall earlier." Snow's ears pricked up. Was there no escape from this?

"Don't you worry about that. It's fine. You're gonna be here for a while so we've plenty of time for all that." hope looked up at him, was he really going to have him in his home after Hope had just cut them out of his life? Snow got up and walked over to the door.

"Eat your soup," He winked at the boy. hope forced a smile, but was surprised when he didn't have to force so hard. "Oh, and Hope?" Hope looked up at him with a spoon in his mouth. "It's good to see you again." He left the room. Hope swallowed his mouthful of soup and contemplated Snow's words. Maybe he was safe here. Maybe.

* * *

sooooooo, there's another one for you :) I posted it up so soon so you could all get an idea of how the first one was supposed to look :) Ok well tell me what you think, please. All criticisms or ideas will be taken on board ^^ Thanks for reading.

-ThomasBlue.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey everybody =] Sorry I'm so late putting this up, I had sooooo much work to finish for college before we broke up for Easter. I didn't even get it all done, what a failure :P

But I just wanna start by thanking you all so much for reading and commenting. I've got some really great ideas for this and I'm glad there are some people to follow it.

Ok, so enough from me! On with the show! Oh, by the way, I've tried to keep spoilers to a minimum but it's kinda hard since this takes place after the game.

* * *

Chapter 3 – Nobody likes a skank.

"Agh!" Hope sprung up in his bed, immediately wincing at the pain in his side. He sat there, drenched in sweat and scanned the room. His breathing was shallow and rushed. He knew it had happened, he rested his head in his hands and exhaled. _Yeah, just a nightmare again. For god's sake learn to control these things. _Hope found his own thoughts comical, was there no escape from the abuse? Hope checked the clock at the side of the bed, which projected a red light onto him as his hand approached it. He turned it round and checked the time. "Ugh!" He sighed and threw himself down against the bed. He tilted his head too look at it again. It was half past two in the morning. Hope struggled out of his bed, steadying himself on his left knee as he struggled to his feet. He timidly made for the door.

-----

Snow sat on the plastic lawn chair, his feet resting on the railings of the balcony. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes. Despite the freezing cold, he actually felt at peace here. He pushed the head of a bottle to his lips and took a deep sip. He held the bottle up in front of his face and inspected it. _Getting drunk at this time? You know you're gonna feel like shit tomorrow, right? Or today, rather. _He smirked and took another looked out over the empty street and his smirk fell from his face. "I wonder what Sereh's doing..." He murmured to himself.

"Did she go somewhere?" A voice sounded from the sliding balcony doors. Snow jumped and looked around to see hope half in, half out the gap between the door and the wall. Snow smiled at Hope, but then it fell into a frown.

"You should be resting; I know I would if somebody stabbed me." Hope looked down at the floor, he was still obviously not ready to talk about it.

"Yeah, I'll go back to..."

"Hope, you don't have to talk about it right now if you don't want to." Snow said as Hope turned. His words stopped him in his tracks and he turned to look at Snow again. Hope's eyes flicked to the empty lawn chair next to snow.

"Take a seat, if you want?" Hope smiled and stepped all the way out the door and onto the balcony. He sat down next to Snow and shivered at the cold plastic. The pair sat in silence for a short while, looking out over the street.

"This is a nice place, snow." Hope said, "So, you have a job now?" Snow laughed and nodded.

"Guess what I do." Snow said as he looked over at Hope, who noticed he was suppressing a laugh. Hope didn't say anything; he just prompted Snow to continue with a nod. "I'm a chef!" He started to laugh and Hope withdrew a little, stifling a laugh.

"Seriously?!" Hope chuckled, "You never struck me as the type who could cook." He bent round and looked through the glass of the sliding doors to the inside of the house, "Or clean..."

"Hey!" Snow moaned, trying to sound offended, but breaking it up with laughter. He calmed down a little and looked over at Hope, who was staring at him. "We saved the world, Hope." His voice dropped and he took another sip of his beer. Hope could tell this conversation was going to lead to questions for him, but Snow was more sensitive to the situation than he gave him credit for. "So! What about you? It's been nearly a year, what's been going on with you?" Hope flinched and looked down at his crossed legs.

"N-nothing much. Just stuff." Hope was a terrible liar, and Snow was a veteran. He could tell there was something, but he didn't want to stress Hope out.

"How was your fifteenth birthday? It was a couple of months after we lost touch, right?" hope nodded, finding himself without the power of speech. Then, he realised what was happening here, Snow had been indirectly interrogating him from the very start!

"Y-yeah it was. It was fine." Hope cut the conversation short, and at that moment Snow knew he'd been rumbled. He started laughing.

"You're a smart kid, hope. I always liked you." Hope was a little surprised at first, and then he felt that feeling again. The one he hadn't felt since he, Snow, Lightening and the others had saved the world. He smiled at Snow. _I haven't seen him smile in god-knows how long! _Snow made a realisation. There was something wrong with this boy, something awful. "Was it because of Vanille? Is that why you left us?" snow felt a little sad saying that. Nobody had seen her since cocoon was saved. Hope reeled from the question and bowed his head.

"It wasn't..."

"Because I know you were sweet on her." Hope recoiled and blushed. It's true that he liked her, but he was always unsure of his feelings.

"Shut up, Snow!" There was a moment of silence where they both sat in remembrance. Suddenly, Hope felt a deep need to be around these people again. He loved them, each and every one of them.

"Can I stay with you?" hope blurted out, shocking Snow.

"What, you mean while you heal up?" Hope shook his head. "You mean for good?!" Hope nodded timidly. "But what about your dad?!" Hope flinched again and clenched his fists.

"Don't call him! Please, don't tell him I'm here!" snow was shocked by the panic in his eyes so he nodded a, confused look on his face. "I know I left you all and I know it hurt you and I'm sorry and..." snow swivelled around on his chair and pulled Hope into a hug. "I didn't mean to, I didn't!"

"Shhh! Hope, its okay!" He held him out at arm's length and looked at him, giving him that famous smile. "Want something to eat? I promise you, I am 'the type who would cook'" Hope looked up at him and nodded, giving a weak smile. Snow let go of him and made his way over to the sliding door. "Can you close the door on your way in, please? I'll bring it to you." Snow smiled as he turned to go.

"Maybe I could..." snow turned again and looked at him. Hope swallowed "sit in the kitchen while you make it?" he continued. Snow nodded and winked at Hope.

"Yeah, that would be cool." Hope walked over to him, to get through the door snow was blocking. "We could talk about what stuff we need to get for your room." He turned and walked into the house. Hope felt like fireworks were going off in his chest. He rushed in after Snow and closed the door. He hadn't been this happy in ages!

-----

Hope sat on the kitchen work surface, kicking his legs back and forth as he watched Snow cook on omelette. Snow looked over to see Hope observing him closely.

"I can't believe you're a chef, Snow!" Hope said. "Everyone's doing so well." Snow laughed and looked over at him.

"This is nothing." He pointed at hope, "Haven't you wondered how we fixed your side?" Hope looked down, and then at Snow. "Lightening can still use magic" Hope gasped.

"Seriously?! But why?!" Snow shook his head.

"No idea, but it's handy, right?" Snow laughed. Hope looked at what Snow was cooking and then up at him. He wanted to ask a question but he thought something wasn't right. He decided to go for it.

"Did you and Sereh get married?" Snow stopped cooking and looked over at Hope.

"We had to plan it first; it's set for August..." He left the sentence hanging in the air. Hope decided to leave the matter and just forget it for now.

"Right!" Snow exclaimed, making Hope jump, "It's ready!"

Hope smiled at snow and in that moment he knew he had found something good. Something pure. He'd found his family, and he wasn't going to give them up. Not this time.

* * *

So! What did you think? Things are starting to happen here xD More very soon my friends ^^ It's the Easter holidays xD Happy Easter, everyone!

-ThomasBlue.


	4. Chapter 4i

OMG! So I was going to update like aaaages ago, but a storm mashed the cable that's on the front of my house, so we've had like weeks of no TV and no internet! So yeah, I'm really sorry about not updating In so long, I really hope I've still got some readers left!

With that heartfelt apology over let's get back to work shall we? Enjoy ^^

* * *

Chapter 4 – Just One Of Those days, Part One

Have you ever stubbed your toe? Have you felt the sheer agony that ensues? Of course you have. Weird though, isn't it? How you don't even have to knock it that hard, and it's as if your entire foot has exploded. Now imagine that feeling, but only good, and not so literal, of course...

Hope opened his eyes. He blinked several times as the light streaming from the window bombarded him.

_Morning? _He checked the clock at the side of his bed, _Quarter-past twelve?! _Hope gasped mentally. It was unusual for him to sleep the night through without waking, let alone to actually sleep in. The teen had been noticing a few of these changes over the past few days he had spent with Snow and Lightening, and he liked them. He just lay there, half-in, half-out the covers drinking in the early noon silence that filled his room. There was a knock at the door, but no pause between it and the opening of the door. Snow bounded in.

"Hey Hope, do you want..." Snow froze as his eyes grew wide at the scene before him. Hope looked straight at him and gave him a confused look.

"Wha..." Snow stared to back away.

"Oh man, I am so sorry!" he stammered as he averted his eyes, looking all around the room but never at Hope. This only added to his confusion.

"Snow, what?.." Hope caught a glimpse of what all the fuss was over. The bit of him that was 'half-out' of the covers was also completely 'out' of any clothes. "Oh my god!" Hope scrambled to wrap the covers around him, which seemed to make Snow nervous.

"I'm so sorry! I mean I...Next time I'll knock, i..."

"Get out, you idiot!" Hope yelped! Snow seemed to snap out of his coma.

"Yeah, I'm really sorry I'll go..." Hope was bright red from embarrassment now.

"Get out snow! Jeez!" hope collapsed on the bed as he felt the reassuring waft of air that brushed his skin as Snow swung the door closed. Once Hope had gotten over the initial embarrassment he jumped out of bed, mentally cursing himself. _Who the hell sleeps naked anyway!?_

_Well obviously, I do! _He struggled to pull on a pair of boxers that lay on the floor by the bed.

_Well, you shouldn't! 'Cuz stuff like that happens! You massive idiot..._ Hope shivered from the embarrassment he was feeling. He shut out his own thoughts and timidly stepped over to the door. He rested one shaky hand on the handle and took one last look down himself just to check he had actually put something on. _Please don't be waiting, please don't be waiting, please don't be waiting! _He opened the door. It swung open and sure enough, there stood Snow, looking extremely awkward.

"I, ummm....brought you breakfast." Snow slowly handed the tray to hope, who grabbed it. The room was silent, the atmosphere quickly becoming the consistency of treacle.

"Oh, great," Hope whimpered. "Thanks, Snow." Hope searched his mind desperately for a non-nakedness related topic. "Was there something else you wanted?" Snow backed away a little.

"Yeah, but it can wait until you're a little more...." Snow coughed, "Dressed" He turned and floated off down the corridor. Hope groaned and let his head fall against the doorframe.

_Sleeping in....bad idea, _He closed the door. Setting the breakfast down on the floor he collapsed on his bed and buried his face in the sheets. He listened to the gentle ticking of the clock on the wall, and the muffled sound of the busy streets outside. "Oh man, he was so freaked!" He whimpered to himself, breaking the silence. Suddenly, it hit him. Did Snow think he was...up to something? A stronger blush painted his cheeks and he rushed out of bed to try and explain.

Snow walked back into the kitchen and rested his elbows on the counter.

"Is he awake, yet? We have to get a move on." A voice sounded from behind him. He jumped and turned to see Lightening.

"Y-yeah, he's..." Lightening furrowed her brow at his stuttering.

"What's up with you? Is hope okay?" snow snapped out of it and nodded, smiling at her.

"Yeah, he's fine. Just bad timing, is all." This only added to her confusion. "He'll be ready soon."

"Have you told him where we're going?" She asked as he raised a mug of coffee to her lips. Snow was never given the chance to answer, though, as Hope rushed into the kitchen.

"Snow! It wasn't what you think! I mean, I wasn't messing with myself I was..." He heard a choking sound. Shifting his gaze from Snow slightly, he saw Lightening wiping coffee from her chin, staring at him. "L-lightening!?" Hope froze on the spot. Snow observed the awkward exchange and felt it was necessary to make an inappropriate comment.

"Well, at least the lad is settling in, right?" Snow chuckled. Lightening exploded with laughter as she steadied herself on the work surface. Hope blushed and recoiled a little.

"N-no! It wasn't like that!" Hope stammered, trying to explain whilst at the same time wishing the ground would swallow him whole.

"Hey, don't worry about it!" Snow exclaimed, "You're fifteen! I remember how often I used to..."

"Oh god!" Hope recoiled. "That was _the _most embarrassing thing I've ever heard!" He said, trying not to look at Lightening, who was half-heartedly attempting to hide her amusement.

"Think you can keep your hands off yourself long enough to get dressed?" lightening jibed, "We're going shopping." Snow tilted his head.

"Shopping for what?" Lightening pointed at him.

"Because you didn't see it necessary to bring more than one set of clothes, which we are going to talk about, by the way." She joked, whilst at the same time letting him know that she was going to ask him questions, and she expected answers. "So go and get dressed!" She ordered. Hope nodded and skulked off down the corridor. "Try not to get distracted, eh?" She shouted to him. Snow laughed and he turned his head to Lightening.

"I think I heard him cringe then." He chuckled. Lightening laughed and finished her coffee.

"I'm going to check train times." She brushed past him, "Sarah's not coping well, she can't understand why her fiancé can't even look at her." Snow looked into her eyes. "Y'know what?" she murmured, "Neither can I." She left the sentence hanging as she walked off. Snow listened to the thudding of her boots on the wooden floor, waiting for it to fade to a gentle echo before he could breathe again. He stood in silence, leaning against the counter, thinking on what Lightening had said.

Hope was stood in front of the bathroom mirror, waiting for the shower to warm up. The initial shock of the previous events had just about worn off, and he'd been given chance to think about them.

_I think it's safe to say that i now don't stand a chance of convincing them I wasn't masturbating, _he thought as he splashed some cold water over his face. _It's not that bad though, _he turned and stepped into the shower, letting the water run down his body, _Snow said it himself, he used to..._Hope opened his eyes, a confused expression splashed across his face. He looked down to see himself hardening at the thought he'd just had. He started breathing heavily as he stared down at what had happened. He closed his eyes...

He could see Snow...was it snow? He could see tussled blonde hair falling over intense eyes. Subconsciously, his hand slipped down his stomach. It went lower still, until it stopped. He raised his head, letting the hot water fall onto his face as his hand started to move up and down.

_What the fuck am I doing?! _His eyes shot open and he looked down. He was now rock hard and panting. He stood there, trying to process what was happening. But right now, at this precise moment, he didn't care. He closed his eyes again...

* * *

Right, that was what I was supposed to put up weeks ago! Again I'm sorry for the delay and I hope you're all still reading The next chapter will be coming soon, I promise it won't be ages 'cuz the internet is fixed now

I the next chapter you're gonna find out how that little bathroom scene ends, and it takes a more serious tone when you get more insight into that big question: What the hell is wrong with Hope? Until then, have a good week people


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